Enoteca Pinchiorri — Restaurant in Florence

At Best 2 stars... AVOID AT ALL COSTS !!!!!! Screaming Children, the owner's barking dog, overly salted food, a ridiculous owner and a frightened staff. That would be the caption for the disastrous evening we suffered through and paid close to $500.00 USD per person for. Much anticipated reservation made and confirmed over a month before my arrival in Florence. I had planned for what I thought would be a very special, luxe evening at this much touted restaurant. I understood the price would be dear, but the experience was supposed to exceed the cost of admission ... I want to add here that my friend and I are not inexperienced at 2, 3 and 4 star dining experiences. We have eaten at many of the finest restaurants in many cities around the world... It is one of our travel hobbies and pleasures.

SURPRISE!!!!!! This was an absolute disappointment for the get go. I have no earthly idea why we didn't get up and leave. We were seated in a charming upstairs, open balcony space with only 3 other tables occupied. Everyone was peeking to see what the other table had chosen from the 3 tasting menus choices and the wine decisions each had made. That was the fun part. Each table bonded in a very sweet, multi cultural way. BTW, the first thing you are given is a hard cover bible-like menu of water selections ... I kid you not. The price to quench your thirst ranges from 15 to 65 Euros per small bottle. Moving forward, not 20 minutes into the evening there was a loud, sharply barking dog just below us. When I made mention of this repeated ruckus to the server his reply included rolling eyes, as if I were a cheesy American, saying he could do nothing as it was the owner's dog. Why didn't we leave!?! This loud barking continued sporadically throughout the evening. Not mote than a few minutes later a toddler, also seated just below the balcony, began whining with outside volume. At almost 10 pm I can understand his point of view but not at the prices we were laying out for a supposed 3 star experience. No sooner did he calm down did his infant sibling awaken and started screaming bloody hell. My dinner partner and I complained to the server who looked like he wanted to disappear into the woodwork. He said something like, I'm sorry madams, there is nothing I can do.They are paying diners too. My partner was so incensed that she stormed downstairs and confronted the parents of the offensive noise (to no avail, as they couldn't have cared less). It was not pretty, but I will add that the other diners in our area were quite happy with her attempt to get some decorum returned to the evening. We returned 2 dishes to the kitchen for substitutes as the level of salt could have melted ice. There was no flavor to any dish on our menu just the bite of salt. Such a complete disappointment. Desert began with stupid pomp!!! The server rolls out a luxurious tea cart topped with multiple chocolate selections. You are offered your choice of 2 different chocolates. Your selections, each ending up the size of a match book, is broken off of a main piece with a tool and then placed on a plate with silver tongs before it is handed to you. I never laughed so hard. It was all just too silly. How the servers do this with a straight face is Oscar worthy. As we left the restaurant we were met by the owner and manager who awaited us at the front door. She (the owner) made all sorts of excuses for the evening we had just experienced. She said Italy is like France, dogs are permitted in restaurants. I did Google that only to find that it's clearly not the fact. Italy has a no pet law for places that deal with food. I searched for a service dog allowance, none came up. MOST insulting of all is when she went to our cab window and said she hoped we would forget about this evening. I will give that something may have been lost in her translation, but the bigger point being this was supposed to be an evening to remember not forget! Shame on Enoteca Pinchiorri. Shame on the Michelin organization. AVOID AT ALL...

Enoteca Pinchiorri is the best rated Michelin star restaurant in Florence. Yet, IMO, it doesn't deserve any Michelin.

The atmosphere was overly pretentious, they had flowers and very nice decor. However, at a closer look, the paint was peeling off the walls , the ceiling was peeling and the Chandelier above us, was cracked and I questioned whether it would fall on us.

The waiters were all men, which was no bother to me. They were well dressed and attentive in some aspect, but lacked severely in others

The wine selection was elaborate, which was described as a bible of sorts. You could spend hours filliping through deciding.

First, we were presented with bread, miniature side plates were next to us, and while being served, the waiter dropped the bread on the table, he picked it up and continued to place it on my plate. I looked at him with disgust and decided to let it slide. Needless, I didn't eat that bread.

The meals: The Tasting had two selections Evolution Heart Mother

Four of us attended: two were vegetarian and the other two were carnivores.

Since I'm a vegetarian I will comment on that.

1st- black and white eggplant truffle - This was OK, the dish looked presentable, but nothing special, no flavor but It was tolerable.

2nd - Beetroot omelet, green tomatoes, fermented banana cream and milk curd - I could NOT eat this, I took one bite and it tasted like years old spoiled milk.

3rd- Little roasted burned flour dumplings, sheep cheese fondue, pear mostarda and asparagus ragout- This dish tasted well, presented well, and I really liked.

4th- Capellini cooked in porcini mushrooms broth, saffron cream and crunchy quinoa - I was excited for this, since after all, the last one tasted well. I put the food in my mouth and immediately gagged, I was in distress, and thought of regurgitating right there. Instead, I got up, ran to the bathroom, and there I gagged and retched, while vigorously washing my mouth out over and over again.

I took a minute wondering, why would someone serve this.

Imagine a moldy sock, sitting in a container for months, or even years for whatever reason, and someone decided to open it and serve it you. If you could taste that moldy sock, this dish would be it. I felt disrespected, contempt and discourtesy towards us. For whatever reason, the chef decided to leave flavor out of the equation and serve us an "Art dish" made of pure trash.

This was the final straw for me, as they continued to attempt to serve me the next dish, I decline, and declined. My husband and friends attempted the dessert and could not tolerate it. My husband who normally eats my food and his, did not want his last meal or dessert.

I sat and pondered, that my very own dog receives better quality tasting food than this.

If the main practice was art, Food art isn't food, if garbage probably taste better.

After explaining my disgust for the food, my thoughts were ignored and they attempted to blame me, as if I was at fault for not liking vermin. I clarified and stated " this was the worst food I've had in my entire life"

No one seemed to care that the food tasted atrocious and continued as normal.

The chef, did not greet us, no one apologized they pretended it was all fine. I was forced to pay for the entire meal, even though more than half of it was returned. If you're wondering who this chef is, his name is Riccardo Monco - he is on instagram. This chef, doesn't deserve any title related to FOOD, maybe art, but food is not his forte.

Enoteca deserves to have the name "restaurant" removed and changed...

My wife and I made the mistake of reading too many reviews before our meal at Enoteca Pinchiorri; there are so many disappointed patrons! We shouldn't have been nervous, however. The restaurant is a luxurious delight. However, I'd like to share our method for navigating the menu—there is a way to get a truly three star experience without feeling like you've been robbed.

First of all, we viewed every choice with a great deal of curiosity. (There are many choices to make.) The famous "water menu," which features sparkling and still bottles from all around the globe, at first seems pretentious. But after we were led through it, it made sense. We were able to choose water with wide range of mineral content. We chose two bottles that were completely different from one another—we never knew water had such character! With this menu, Enoteca Pinchiorri invites you to change your relationship with water. Yes, the bottles are costly (10-20 euros), but the price and the decision forces you to be more attentive to the nuances of the precious resource you are drinking.

Next, the food menu. We decided NOT to do the tasting menu because my wife wanted to splurge and try a dish with white truffle. We each shared two appetizers, two pastas, and we split a main dish and a dessert, which I daresay is the perfect amount of food for two people—we got to tour the menu without overstuffing ourselves. We've discovered that in Italy all servers will recommend a 3 course meal for every individual person, which is often too much for us. We were very glad we didn't listen and decided to share the main, which was very generous! For a 3-star Michelin restaurant, Enoteca Pinchiorri has substantial portions. Everything was creative and delicious, and we ate a pasta with duck that blew our minds.

Now, a word about the wine menu. Once again we opted against the tasters, partly because we prefer different wines to those that were featured. I asked the somm for a recommendation based on the flavor profiles and regions that I enjoy, and he pointed me towards an absolutely riveting bottle from the Rhone Valley. Was it expensive? Certainly. But later research showed how difficult these wines are to acquire. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase access to one of the best wine cellars in the world. I'm glad I did.

Everyone talks about the water menu, but no one mentions the COFFEE menu! I was delighted to find that the restaurant also sources espresso from all over the world. I had my pick of coffees from Honduras, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Salvador.... In the end I chose a Nepalese coffee that was smooth, fruity, and balanced. Divine, and the best espresso I drank on this trip.

In short, my wife and I made an effort to navigate Enoteca Pinchiorri's daunting menus decisively, and we had the meal of a lifetime for a little over 500 euros per person. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fine dining, particularly those who regularly splurge on high end wine like my wife and I do. Thank you, Enoteca Pinchiorri, for an...